If more men were like Mr. Rogers this world would be wonderful.
25
Before his Canadian television venture and subsequent move to Pittsburgh, Mr. Rogers spent the 1950s in Pittsburgh as the puppeteer on a program called "Children's Corner." The host was Josie Carey, but Mr. Rogers' puppets, including King Friday and Daniel Tiger, were an important part of the program.
7
So much was learned over many years in that house. Kindness and concern toward others. Being helpful without being asked. Every person has value and worth. Taking a curious approach toward the world in general and how things work specifically. These are some of the basic lessons I remember from the wonderful Mr. Rogers, a man who served as a great role model and friend of millions.
8
Twenty five years ago, our sincere, sweet almost 3 year old son loved Mr. Rogers, and watched him with intense concentration every day. One day during the show, he suddenly showed up in the kitchen, eyes watery with tears: "Mommy, I asked Mr. Wodgers a qwestion and he won't answer me. I thought he was my fwend."
Turns out the little guy thought Mr. Rogers could hear him asking a question, and would answer him back. Being a gentle soul, much like Mr. Rogers, he was crushed to learn Mr. Rogers wasn't, essentially, talking just to him every afternoon. Trying to come up with a solution, I asked our son if he would like to draw a picture and we would send it to Mr. Rogers. So, he did and I wrote a note explaining the situation. Three weeks later, a manila envelope showed up with a dear and sensitive note to our little guy. The "picture" he had drawn and sent was a trolley, so Mr. Rogers sent him - and his sister - postcards. It was such a lovely and touching gesture.
Our little slept with that postcard for the next 3 months! Although I was a little puzzled when I heard him talking to Mr. Rogers through the TV telling him thank you for the gifts!
28
I was given a book years ago (as a grown up) called "The World According To Mister Rogers" and I still read it and cherish the very simple and very powerful lessons in it...I grew up in Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (not literally) and will watch old clips on YouTube when I am feeling low...I loved him from the time I was small and continue to now...and thank you to many of the commenters with such great stories of him...I wept the entire way through...
13
Fred McFeely Rogers, my second cousin, was in addition to being extraordinarily kind was a very smart man of deep spiritual insight.
There is a famous Talmudic commentary on Isaiah posing the question why does the prophet write both "Ho, all who thirst come now to the water" and "Bring water to the parched?" The answer is that the parched are those to weak or small to leave their homes, and that it is an affirmative duty of people of faith to minister to the weak where they can be found.
Fred fulfilled this duty to minister to the least among us by employing what was at that time the most cutting edge advanced technology: broadcast t.v.
Every summer I take a week off to volunteer teach Vacation Bible School at my local Presbyterian Church and so pass on the gift Fred gave all of us those many years ago.
God is Love teaches the Bible, and Fred embodied that teaching to his very core.
22
My daughter preferred "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" to "Sesame Street." Even at age 4, she recognized his kindness and empathy.
6
Along with Charles Schultz and Norman Rockwell, Fred Rogers is the third person of what I call the "secular trinity" of good men who understood those special human beings we call children. They neither belittled nor patronized them; they were attentive to the child's inner landscape and saw it as just as - perhaps more - important than that of adults. Sorely missed, and sorely needed.
17
Fred Rogers--everything that the world today is not. Bless him.
19
One of my dearest memories of my middle son’s toddlerhood was when he would sit in front of the tv and sing along in his little lispy voice. To this day—(34 yrs) he gets nostalgic about Mr. Rogers.
1
I came about ten years too late for the Mr Rodgers and even Sesame Street party. I was raised on Bugs Bunny, Mad Magazine, National Lampoon, and The Three Stooges...I was a product of my generation-skeptical. I found Mr. Rogers creepy, didn't anything get under his skin? He was like on "permanent Prozac". I am not celebrating his 50th.
5
My youngest was an avid Mr. Rogers fan but I never realized the power of his magic until one afternoon when I tried to pry her away from the TV because I had to pick up her older siblings from an after school activity. "But Mom," she said, " I can't leave now. Who is Mr. Rogers going to talk to?"
15
I, too, am 55 and grew up with Mr. Rogers, every day at 5 pm. I loved the man and always wished that he was my dad. I agree with Chintz22 that kids who were hurting felt a particular connection to him. I cried when he died, and still cry reading these wonderful comments shared by others who loved him too.
16
You missed one of the best episodes, when Fred Rogers invited Margaret Hamilton, the wonderful actress who played the Wicked Witch of the West, to come on his show to talk about how she was an actress who played a witch. She brought the costume with her and put it on and demonstrated how she swept the cape around and it was wonderful and sweet. Hamilton had trained as a preschool teacher and was happy to explain that she was a nice lady with grandchildren who sometimes played mean people in movies.
Twenty or more years ago, I had the chance to see Mr. Rogers in person. He was accepting an award from the American Academy of Pediatrics at a luncheon in a hotel in New York. The presenter started his introduction by taking off his jacket and putting on a cardigan and changing his shoes for sneakers. Fred Rogers, using the exact voice he used on his show, then discussed how to talk about death with children. After his talk I happened to be standing by one of the exits and a woman was there with her little girl. she had been staying the the hotel and saw an opportunity to have her child meet Mr. Rogers. As he was leaving the room, she asked him to greet her child. Mr. Rogers stopped immediately, dropped to one knee in front of the child, and for 4 or 5 minutes, nothing in the world mattered to him but speaking to that child. It was magical. Mr. Rogers was magic.
67
Your beautiful account made me cry with happiness. Thank you.
7
Is it possible that the recent emergence of Fred Rogers as a national hero--and that's exactly what he was--is no coincidence? The more we devolve into a digital age and use texts and emails instead of talking and truly communicating, the more our communities dissolve, the more violence we see here and around the world, the more our governmental institutions turn into circus shows, the more we need a Mister Rogers ethos. Whether consciously or unconsciously, we are using Fred Rogers as our rock, as a guide to cut through all the ridiculousness and awfulness that we see all too often so that we can make sense of a world that seems not to make any sense at all anymore. And that is not a bad thing.
30
I've been here previously today, but I have another Fred Rogers story that
hasn't been shared:
He was also a Presbyterian minister, a graduate of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. He continued to live in Pittsburgh and worshipped on Sunday at Third Presbyterian Church. Of course the children in the congregation
recognized him and it was not unusual for one or two of them to slip in beside him and says, "Mr. Rogers, may I sit here?" "Of course!" he
would say and put an arm around the visitors. It wasn't all for a show on Public Television. It was the real Fred.
26
I loved Mr. Rogers (and Sesame Street) as a little kid in the late 70s. My kids don't get much screen time, but they enjoy watching Daniel Tiger (animated show featuring some of the characters from Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood) which promotes wonderful social-emotional learning for kids. Glad to see Mr. Rogers is getting much deserved recognition. We could use more of his gentle, kind teachings in our world today.
9
I'mm 55 years old and I grew up with Mr. Rogers. I greatly miss him, thinking he is who we need right now.
19
His message wasn’t just for children. Kindness, patience, understanding, naming and managing your fears, finding courage — these things help every human find their center.
42
Such kindness, compassion, warmth, and understanding---those who "grew up" with Mr. Rogers were so lucky to have him.
12
Mr. Rogers was effective with small children because they felt that he was truly talking directly to them. Many years ago, when my son was three, he attended nursery school at the Yale Child Study Center. One day when I was leaving the school with him and a little friend, I glimpsed Mr. Rogers entering the building. When the children caught sight of him, my son's little friend said, with all the conviction in the world, "Mr. Rogers likes me. He likes me just the way I am." I was deeply touched by her remark and have never forgotten the incident.
38
I have few heroes. Mister Rogers is one of them. His picture graces the other great masters on my bookshelf.
I was honored to shared a table with him at a dinner awards ceremony in NYC in the early 80s. It was then when I realized that the love he radiated on and off the screen was genuine and deep. When in the presence of greatness one’s life is forever changed. This man gently touched so many lives making us all better human beings.
Through the years I’ve often entertained a thought-bubble of him as the US Secretary of Peace. What a world neighborhood it would had been.
29
The show could never exist today. A solitary avuncular figure who specializes is a childlike dream environment would be regarded as creepy and suspicious. And today's parents would find the lack of an edge in the humor to be too tiresome for adult audiences to tolerate. Mr. Rogers harkens back to a far less cynical time in television.
10
Oh, I don't know. Mr. Rogers represented basic decency, values, respect - all the things that seem to be absent among our current leaders. Perhaps he could show us the way back to a friendlier, more loving time and bring us a sense of peace and comfort that is drifting away.
24
I always took time in my physics classes to briefly discuss a current event or notable passing. When Mr. Rogers’ died, I showed a typical short segment at the end of class. One of the young ladies was in the back of the room crying. “What’s the matter?” I asked. She said, with projectile tears “ He taught me how to tie my shoes”
71
It would take a logarithmic scale of many orders of magnitude to encompass Fred Rogers and PBS (10^6) and Trump and Fox (10^-6).
9
Another great moment: Fred Rogers testified before the Senate Subcommittee on Communications in 1969 and help maintain funding for Public Television:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKy7ljRr0AA
25
My father, a contemporary of Fred Rogers, had more than a passing resemblance to him and also often wore a favorite red cardigan. Like Mr. Rogers, my father was beloved by children. Little ones gathered around him at Sunday school and among friends. My sister and I thought it likely they subconsciously noticed the resemblance. But my father also shared that core of kindness. I think children notice that, too. Both of them were such dear, dear men.
13
Every week day like clock work, after my young daughters, now women, watched Sesame Street, they would sit quietly and serenely "experiencing" Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. Oh, how we all loved that man. Very often as I was preparing dinner, I would ask the girls to turn the TV volume up so that I, too, could listen to him.
His goodness, kindness, and profound understanding of a child's mind - and of their parents' - were healing and inspirational. And how we cried when we learned of his death. But he truly does live on in our minds and hearts. He still is there guiding us through challenges and decisions. His words, his demeanor, his compassion and empathy, are always with us.
22
Teaching 20-year-olds about communication in 2005, I wanted to demonstrate that images usually can convey emotion much more quickly and effectively than words. I decided to show, first, a still image of Mr. Rogers followed by an image of an actual villain of the day, whom I will not name here. As soon as Fred appeared on the screen, a wave of sighs and smiles washed across the classroom, and several softly murmured 'Oh, Mr. Rogers." I knew I had made my point.
12
The only time I saw Fred Rogers in person was when he delivered the Dartmouth Class of 2002 Commencement Address at our son's graduation. I marveled at the Commencement Committee's wisdom in selecting him to deliver the address. Even now, 15 years later, I can't imagine anyone who could have given a more heartfelt and inspirational address. We were very lucky to have been present that day. This world needs more Fred Rogerses.
" . . .In the perspective of infinity, our differences are infinitesimal."
24
I'm of the pre-Mister Rogers generation and only watched the show once, when I was home sick. It was such an interesting episode that I'll never forget it. He went to a place where umbrellas were made and I loved it.
12
I took decades for cardigans to stop being commonly associated as square fashion accessories.
1
Oh how we need Mr. Rogers now, stuck with a so-called leader of the free world who is everything - absolutely everything - we teach children not to be.
30
Fred Rogers taught by deed as well as word. If he popped popcorn, he slowly filled the pan with oil, waited for it to heat, put in a single kernel to test, doing every step, ending with pouring it out into a bowl. All in real time, no cutaways, no animated or puppet creatures exclaiming "P is for Pop, P is for Pan!" He taught patience without ever saying the word. He taught sequencing; he told a story in order, without interruption. Other children's shows sometimes jump around, allowing multi-tasking, coming & going from the room, partial engagement, the behaviors associated with hyper-activity. Mr. Rogers showed with deliberation how life unfolded, a true reality show.
38
Free Mr. Rogers!
Our public television station doesn't show reruns and most of the old episodes are blocked on Youtube because of copyright protection. I will gladly contribute to PBS to release his programs into the public domain. It would be the greatest way to honor his memory.
46
My sister suffered from depression as an adult, and as an adult she wrote him a letter, presumably thanking him for the positive messages in his show. He wrote back with the sweetest and most supportive letter. It was clearly something he wrote especially for her, and I will always be thankful for that kindness.
32
Neither of my two children (now adults) liked Mr. Rogers. They found him boring beyond belief (forgive the unintended alliteration). They also detested "Sesame Street." The TV program they most enjoyed, and still talk about, was "Fraggle Rock." They really got excited when they knew it was about to start because they couldn't wait to start dancing to the energetic music. They also loved the movie, "The Goonies," and from a very young age would reenact every scene and could deliver the dialog verbatim.
1
I'm sure there are exceptions, but I've found that the kids who love/d Mr. Rogers were the ones who needed a stable, caring adult in their lives because there were none or few in their real lives. After the divorce of my parents when I was 4 my mother and I moved across the country. Some might sneer, but Mr. Rogers provided a stability I desperately needed during my childhood. I was 35 when he died and it was the only time I've cried for a "celebrity". I only wish I had written to thank him before his death.
24
I remember when Mr. Rogers started on WNDT (now WNET) in the late 1960s. In those days, it was hard to get the station's signal 50 miles out on Long Island. In those days, channel 13 just showed a bunch college lectures, and Mr. Rogers, became a respite from cartoon fare on WPIX and WNEW. It was about the only thing a kid could watch on channel 13.
He knew how to connect with kids, in a different way than Captain Kangaroo, Sandy Becker, Joe Bolton, Sonny Fox, Bob McAllister, and Jack McCarthy (local New York area children shows hosts of that era). I did enjoy Mr. Roger's, when I could get the signal (which was rare).
In todays' era of virtually no local live kids programming, and TV stations kids education requirement consists of nature shows, there is a string need for people like Mr. Rogers. In Canada, they had a kids show called "The Friendly Giant", which effectively was Canada's Mr. Roger. The CBC canceled it because of costs.
The sad part of all this, that kids now rely on video games, the Internet, and shows in Nickelodeon or Cartoon Network. None come close to the life lessons taught by people like Mr. Rogers. In today's society, maybe we need another person like Fred Rogers fro kids to look up to and be safe with.
20
Watch Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood.
1
don't. it is more a rip-off than a spin-off. no soul. and they don't call it "children's PROGRAMMING" for nothing. skim milk masquerading as creme
1
we were so fortunate Mr. Rogers came to us.
18
When I lived in Winter Park Florida I used to swim laps at Rollins College's outdoor pool. Whenever Fred Rogers vacationed there, he would always come to the pool to also swim laps. He was always happy and conversational, making sure to greet everyone else at the pool and to ask how their day was going. He seemed to be genuinely kind and compassionate; an authentic human being. And, he was a good swimmer.
17
I watched Mr. Rogers Neighborhood with my young children every morning, and I am convinced it's a major reason for their kindness today.
He was a wonderful human being, and his legacy will live on and on.
25
When I was in my early teens, a tornado blew through our town and knocked our antenna over. Consequently, all we could watch on TV for the next several months (while we waited on my sorry father to fix the antenna), was PBS. I watched Mr. Rogers every afternoon after school and just loved him, and continued to watch him long after the antenna got fixed. I can still sing all the songs. Most people might not characterize him this way, but even then, I thought he was the ultimate in cool.
22
Way to make me weep, NYT.
48
I started watching Mr. Rogers in 1971 with my 2-year old son. We were both entertained and educated by Mr. Rogers loving, accepting manner. I'm sure he instilled values in both of us and made us better, happier people. He is a true American treasure.
19
Funny, I didn't realize "Mister Rogers" predated "Sesame Street" (probably because I predated them both).
What a loss to American childhood that there's no comparable influence today: a disarmingly kindly, gentle grownup host who talked and listened and accepted without preaching or condescending. Also, Mister Rogers wasn't afraid of being simple (hand puppets were about as high tech as he got); even "Sesame Street" occasionally indulges in visual fussiness. If the show lacked anything, it was the irony, camp, and snark that seem inescapable in these leaner, meaner times. No wonder the little buggers are out killing each other.
11
Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood touches on a lot of the same things that Mister Rogers Neighborhood did. It's no replacement for Fred Rogers, but it is a nice reminder.
2
it sells merchandise to children - something Fred would NEVER have o.k.'d. it's paint-by-numbers child-development repetitive mantras, not truth underpinned by love. & the music is sub-par.
2
My children loved him and learned from him--so did I!
5
Fred Rogers will always be my hero. My first child, Jeff, was born in 1967 and diagnosed with leukemia when he was 20 months old. This was an era when the average survival time was 24 months after diagnosis, and nobody was cured. Jeffrey died at 9&1/2 years old - a very long-term surviver for the times. It was a lonely and difficult time - no internet, no hospice, no support groups, no camps for kids with cancer.
During most of Jeff’s life, he and his 2 younger siblings watched only PBS, and Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood was the favorite show. As Jeff grew older and more infirm over the years, he wrote Mr. Rogers several letters and ALWAYS got a personal reply back - which thrilled Jeff. In 1977, I wrote Mr. Rogers to tell him of Jeff’s death and to thank him for lighting up my son’s short life, and Fred wrote a very sweet and helpful letter back to ME. These letters are still very special to me. Jeff would’ve been 51 years old this week. It was a long time ago, but Fred Rogers still remains to me a wise and kind hero.
171
Mr. Rogers was influential for my children. They loved the episodes where he went to visit a factory where things were made. Neighborhood of Make Believe, really quite surrealistic for adults, was really compelling viewing for our kids! It is good to see that Mr. Roger's spirit and teaching live on in Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. An animated show, with some real life clips, that I watch with my almost 3 year old granddaughters. Good to see another generation of kids can learn from him.
5
Can you imagine what could happen if everyone in our country stopped for a second, looked at those around them, and said, "Won't you be my neighbor?"
Seems we need Mr. Rogers more than ever right now.
66
As an American woman I grew up in Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. Even though Fred Rogers is gone now, and his Neighborhood is 50 I never have left all those important things that he shared with all of us. Like Yo-Yo Ma I have practiced daily those strings of kindness, compassion, being authentic, and reaching out to help others.
Over the weekend I viewed NEWTOWN. I was so stunned when it happened and each and every time young people are killed by another young person I grieve with the parents and kids that will deal with this trauma for the rest of their lives.
I ask myself what exactly has happened to my country? Mister Rogers couldn't solve the poison at the core or the gun cancer either but it wasn't happening in Mister Rogers' Neighborhood--we couldn't even begin imagine such terror from guns during those times. The streets I walk here are free of guns even that millions of people here own one.
We have lost our way, Mr. Rogers. Please come home and show us the way once more before its too late and more young lives are erased by gun violence.
Just reading about this program again brought me in a state of purity and innocence.
31
I was not a fan of Mr. Rogers — he spoke too slowly. Drove me nuts every morning as my 2-year-old sat enraptured. He was wonderful and so steady. So reliable and so comforting no matter the subject. But please don't make me listen. Years later I finally understood and appreciated his style. I was at my 12-year-old son's wrestling match. It was chaos. Mats all over a large gym, all with matches starting and stopping. Coaches and referees and who knew who else coming and going and shouting by each pair of wrestlers. Each mat was identified only with a roman numeral that I couldn't even register as a number. My first thought was if Mr. Rogers was here I could handle this.
10
About 14 years ago, I ended up in the emergency room in Madison WI with a detached retina. Probably to just get us out of the way, Jeffrey Erlanger and I were both placed in the empty pediatric section of the ER as we waited many hours for our specialists to arrive on a quiet Memorial Day. Even though we were both adults, we had a wonderful time playing with every toy in the area.
Jeffrey Erlanger and Fred Rogers were extraordinary people. Endlessly open curious, and kind.
29
Fred Rogers took young children and their concerns seriously. Most adults underestimate pre-school children's cognitive capacity and their ability to observe the world around them. But he also knew the value of presenting information in a neutral way and before they attached emotional values to sensitive issues. So he normalized rather than marginalized those with handicapping conditions or impairments. He utilized Carl Rogers (no relationship that I"m aware of) non-judgmental approach. A lesson for adults as well as children. And the Trump people would kill off PBS in a flash if they have their way.
37
Crying this morning. But they are happy tears.
28
Me too.
10
I was just recently sharing with a fellow actor that Mr. Rogers taught me how to act. When my daughter started watching him years ago, I went from disinterest, to mild curiosity, and eventually became fascinated with the show. It wasn't until years later that I finally figured out why. Mr. Rogers let you watch him think, and it was fascinating! What a valuable lesson it was for my daughter AND me, not only to learn from him about stuff, but to watch him patiently think about what he too was learning.
As an actor, I always try and remember, not to just say the lines, but to let people watch me think ...like Mr. R.
22
I met Fred Rogers once. At the door of the Pittsburgh home of a college friend I had driven from Rochester to visit. My friend had cancer and I knew he was nearing the end. His wife worked for Fred's production company. When I arrived, Mr. Rogers met me at the door and gently informed me, as only he could, that my friend had died the night before. Mr. Rogers had been the first "family" member to be called to the house that morning. He was the same person in real life that we all knew growing up with him on TV.
64
Memorable Moment #6
https://www.npr.org/2016/03/11/469846519/walking-the-beat-in-mr-rogers-n...
You forgot this one NYT
17
The best, ever. It's all good in the 'hood.
7
Aaaaaand I'm crying just after the first clip. He is the definition of an angel... you hear that Vatican?
20
When my son was 3 yeas old he asked me, "Why does Mister Rogers sing when he comes into the room, and when he leaves?" I thought that was a good question so we wrote a letter to Mister Rogers and asked him. To my delight, he wrote back! It was a personal letter to my son. "Singing is how I say 'hello' and 'goodbye'. You can sing and write songs too! You are very creative." It was signed, "Your Friend, Mister Rogers." It was that sort of personal touch that made, and continues to make Fred Rogers a very special person. He could have sent just a photo or a generic letter, but he sent a personal response to a curious three year old boy. By the way, to this day my 33 year old son continues to write songs and play music.
110
Mr. Kennedy - I loved your comment more than the article. I am totally convinced that if there were more positive role models like Fred Rogers, whether it be public or private figures, life and the world would be a nicer, kinder, more caring and considerate place.
A sincere and heartfelt thanks for sharing your story.
A friend and co-commenter,
Marge Keller
6
When I was a child in western Pennsylvania, I loved to visit a favorite aunt in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. On Sunday we always went to Sunday school at the
First Presbyterian Church. I remember Fred as a ten-year-old in brown
knickers and brown knee socks. And I remember Fred welcoming Wynton
Marsalis to his program many years later. In between he charmed and
educated not only children but all of us who loved and respected him.
19
Mister Rogers was a great man. Why do we think heroes carry guns and go into battle? Sometimes the most heroic thing one can do is listen. He really did that. My son wrote him a letter when he was about seven, announcing his intention to change his name because he wanted to be different, and Mister Rogers quickly wrote back, assuring him he was just fine the way he was. Wow.
Yes, tears.
84
Kindness, civility and empathy. Wow, we could use some of that today! I adored Mr. Rogers as a child, and I can still become completely enthralled watching video clips. His absolute interest in the person (or animal) he was speaking with was so beautiful to watch. His serenity, wisdom and imagination knew no bounds. He was one of a kind and I'll always miss him.
43
One of my heroes. Fred Rogers in his private life was also remarkable. He had a practice of daily prayer wherein he prayed for an astounding number of people on his "list." Even today, I use the internet to play his show and interviews as a sort of "mental" floss. Thanks for this wonderful piece. It comes just when needed, as did Mr. Rogers.
21
Just reading this brought tears to my eyes. What a wonderful person he was. He brought joy to so many people by simply being himself. The show was sincere and under produced and absolutely captivating. I remember being enthralled by it as a child.
49
i was a teenager when mr rogers came into the public consciousness in Canada. i didn't watch him until my children were born in 1973&77.
i think 'hero' is a term thrown around too often.
it wasn't for fred rogers.
he was the best of our species.
79